Szechuan
Peppercorn-heavy regional cooking
Szechuan is a variant spelling of Sichuan, a province in southwestern China known for its bold, spicy cuisine.
Szechuan cooking features liberal use of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, which create a distinctive numbing-hot sensation: Szechuan chicken, Szechuan beef.
The spelling reflects an older romanization system; Sichuan is now standard for the province itself, but Szechuan persists on restaurant menus and spice labels.
Dried spice berry
- mapo tofuSpicy Sichuan bean curd
- kung paoSichuan stir-fry with chilies
- hotpotShared simmering broth meal
- chili oilPepper-steeped fat
twice-cooked pork · numbing · mala · wok · garlic · ginger · scallion · Chengdu
Causing loss of sensation
- tinglingSlight stinging sensation
- malaPrayer bead necklace
- spicyHaving strong heat
- pungentSharply strong-smelling
fiery · aromatic · bold · complex · heat · tingly · electric · buzzing
Sichuan provincial capital
- ChongqingChinese southwestern megacity
- ChinaEast Asian superpower
- provinceRegional administrative district
- basinConcave water receptacle
pandas · southwestern · Yangtze · mountainous · humid · subtropical · fertile · populous
peppercorn
Dried spice berry
- mapo tofuSpicy Sichuan bean curd
- kung paoSichuan stir-fry with chilies
- hotpotShared simmering broth meal
chili oil · twice-cooked pork · numbing · mala · wok · garlic · ginger · scallion · Chengdu · spicy
numbing
Causing loss of sensation
pungent · fiery · aromatic · bold · complex · heat · tingly · electric · buzzing · intense
Chengdu
Sichuan provincial capital
- ChongqingChinese southwestern megacity
- ChinaEast Asian superpower
- provinceRegional administrative district
basin · pandas · southwestern · Yangtze · mountainous · humid · subtropical · fertile · populous · inland
- cuisinesItalian cuisine, French cuisine, Chinese cuisine, Japanese cuisine, Mexican cuisine
- stir frywok, soy sauce, bok choy, bean sprouts, sesame oil
- World FlavorsItalian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, French
- Wade-GilesPeking, Nanking, Chungking, Yunnan, Hunan
- spicy foodscayenne, jalfrezi, chili pepper, chili peppers, habanero
- Chinese RegionsBeijing, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Hubei
- Szechuan chickenSpicy Chinese stir-fry dish
- szechuan beefSpicy Chinese meat dish
- Szechuan pepperNumbing Chinese spice berry